REP. ROHRABACHER MEETS WITH ROSATOM'S KIRIYENKO

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001688 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KNNP OREP PREL RS SUBJECT: REP. ROHRABACHER MEETS WITH ROSATOM'S KIRIYENKO SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Rosatom Director General Sergey Kiriyenko welcomed Congressman Dana Rohrabacher's strong support for the U.S.-Russia 123 Agreement during a June 3 meeting at Rosatom. Congressman Rohrabacher highlighted the potential for bilateral collaboration in the development of a high temperature gas cooled reactor. Kiriyenko agreed the technology was promising, but added that U.S funding for joint R and D should not come out of the $400 million the U.S. has pledged under the Plutonium Disposition Agreement. Kiriyenko noted that Russia has called on Iran to cease enrichment and offered Iran ways to guarantee its nuclear fuel supply without enriching. Kiriyenko expressed concern about a bill drafted by Senator Domenici which would impose new restrictions on future Russian exports of low enriched uranium to the U.S. market. End Summary. U.S.-Russia 123 Agreement -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Rosatom State Corporation Director General Sergey Kiriyenko received Congressman Rohrabacher and Charge at Rosatom June 3. Joining Kiriyenko were Rosatom Deputy Director General Nikolay Spasskiy and three Rosatom Department Directors. Kiriyenko welcomed Congressman Rohrabacher's expression of strong support for the U.S.-Russia 123 Agreement on civil nuclear cooperation. Congressman Rohrabacher confirmed that some of his colleagues on Capitol Hill opposed the Agreement because of Russia's involvement in Iran's civilian nuclear program. Kiriyenko thanked the Congressman for his frankness. Bilateral Civilian Nuclear Cooperation -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Kiriyenko was optimistic about the potential for expanded U.S.-Russian civilian nuclear and nonproliferation cooperation. He observed that the best way to combat lingering cold war mindsets on both sides was to increase cooperation through concrete projects. He highlighted U.S.-Russian cooperation in bringing about the shutdown of the plutonium-generating reactor in Seversk. He also praised the longstanding HEU-LEU program as a major achievement in advancing nonproliferation goals while supplying a significant portion of the fuel used by U.S. nuclear power plants. ¶4. (SBU) The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) offers an additional avenue for enhanced cooperation, Kiriyenko observed. GNEP is consistent with Russia's call for International Uranium Enrichment Centers, such as the one in Angarsk. GNEP and International Enrichment Centers will help promote the safe use of nuclear power by developing countries. High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Congressman Rohrabacher stressed that the development of high temperature gas cooled reactors could serve as a foundation for enhanced bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation. He follows the development of the technology closely, since General Atomics is located in Southern California. High temperature gas cooled reactors would be cleaner and safer and fit the goal of providing the benefits of nuclear power technology to developing countries without increasing the proliferation risk. Rohrabacher recounted how he had met the day before with the Vice President of the Kurchatov Institute, Nikolay Ponomarev-Stepnoy, who is a strong proponent of the gas cooled reactor. In Stepnoy's view, this joint U.S.-Russian program was the only genuine current cooperative civil nuclear research project. Gas Cooled Reactors and the Plutonium Disposition Agreement -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Kiriyenko agreed that since high temperature gas cooled reactors could burn plutonium efficiently they had strong non-proliferation potential. He welcomed Russian cooperation with General Atomics and favored intensifying it. Kiriyenko observed that Rosatom's twenty year strategic plan contained funding for research and development of the high temperature gas reactors. ¶7. (SBU) Kiriyenko noted that the U.S. and Russia are still engaged in negotiations on the Plutonium Disposition agreement. Kiriyenko maintained that when he and Secretary Bodman signed the Joint Statement on the Agreement in November 2007, Secretary Bodman had agreed to include research into the gas cooled reactors under the Agreement's auspices. However, Russia believed that U.S. funding for R and D into the gas cooled reactors should be in addition to the $400 million set out for the Plutonium Disposition program. The U.S. side wanted to take funding out of the $400 million. (Rohrabacher heard much the same from Kurchatov's Ponomarev-Stepnoy. If the U.S. did not provide additional funds, Stepnoy warned, Kiriyenko would continue to support the effort, but not as a joint project, effectively cutting off the existing flow of R and D information.) ¶8. (SBU) Congressman Rohrabacher said he would speak with Senator Lugar and inquire whether CTR funds might be used for purposes of development of the gas reactor given its effectiveness in burning plutonium. Russian-Iranian Civil Nuclear Cooperation -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Charge asked Kiriyenko to describe the state of Russian-Iranian civil nuclear cooperation. Kiriyenko said Russia's position is clear: it firmly opposes Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. Russia's analysis of the risk is similar to that outlined in the U.S. NIE on Iran: Russia has no evidence that Iran has an active weapons program but can not rule out that such a program exists. Russian leaders, including Putin, have told Iranian counterparts that if they seek only civilian nuclear power, then their enrichment program makes no sense. Enrichment only makes economic sense if it can supply a base of ten or, preferably, twenty reactors. Iran has only one reactor -- Bushehr -- and Russia will supply all the fuel for it and take away all waste. From an economic perspective, the Iranian enrichment program thus makes no sense for civilian uses. ¶10. (SBU) The Iranians reply that they are moving forward in the fuel cycle in order to have an assured fuel supply, Kiriyenko said. Russia has responded that it is willing to provide Iran with assurances of supply, as long as Iran remains in good standing with the IAEA. An international enrichment center, such as the one in Angarsk operating under IAEA auspices, can institutionalize such assurances. Russia's provision of fuel to Bushehr demonstrates that Iran need not fear a cut-off of fuel and that its enrichment program is entirely unnecessary. ¶11. (SBU) Kiriyenko said that in his personal opinion, sanctions against Iran will not stop its enrichment program unless the sanctions target Iran's oil and gas sector. Only then would Iran take sanctions seriously. But the costs of such action could be as detrimental to the West as to Iran. The spike in prices would, however, not hurt Russia, given its status as an exporter, he observed. Amendment to the Uranium Anti-Dumping Suspension Agreement -------------- -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Kiriyenko recounted how in February he and Secretary Gutierrez had signed the amendment to the Uranium Anti-Dumping Suspension Agreement. The amendment, Kiriyenko said, was important in providing stability by granting Russia a fixed percentage of the U.S. market. U.S. utilities were in favor of it. While Russia had hoped for more than 20 percent of the U.S. market, they had signed on. With the advent of a bill by Senator Domenici, however, the Suspension Agreement appears in jeopardy. Senator Domenici's bill would have the effect of voiding the Suspension Agreement, Kiriyenko said. The bill would insist that imports of LEU to the U.S. from Russia could only be from down blended HEU, according to Kiriyenko. (Note: We understand that the Domenici bill actually permits 400,000 kg/year of Russian LEU imports to the United States beginning in 2014, but any imports beyond that would be linked to down blended HEU.) Russia could not meet that condition. Kiriyenko said he might write a letter to the U.S. Administration laying out the issue. (Note: On June 5, Kiriyenko did send a letter to Energy Secretary Bodman highlighting Russian concerns with the Domenici bill.) ¶13. (SBU) Congressman Rohrabacher concluded the meeting by reiterating his belief in the important role U.S.-Russian collaboration could play in developing a new generation of safe and clean nuclear reactors. He underlined that success in that endeavor would spread the benefits of nuclear power worldwide while reducing proliferation risk. RUSSELL